A Mighty wind,anybody seen it yet?

Anybody seen Christopher Guests new movie?
A Mighty wind.
About a deceased promoter of 60's folk bands whose children try to get his old acts back together again for a one off "live on air TV show".
This sounds like a classic in the making,just from the story.

 

My two cents:

To a large degree, these Christopher Guest-directed 'mockumentaries' are the Chris Farley / David Spade films for the NPR set. The situation changes, but really, these comedies work a formula over and over for a crowd that has proven that it wants cookie-cutter comedies, just a bit more high-minded than Black Sheep, thank you very much. Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show had just as many clichés and obvious jokes as Tommy Boy, it just dressed them up in pseudo-intelligent garb and banked on the feeling of superiority watching people being made fun of can provide to those smart enough to see the characters are indeed being made fun of. They are wildly successful, at least partly because the writers and actors work broadly enough to ensure that every person on the planet catches the clues and are in on the joke. Luckily, A Mighty Wind is as close as the formula has ever come to working. Yes, the interview scenes that make up much of the first forty minutes are every bit as cliché-ridden as similar scenes from the other films in this series (Ah, the shiny-clean women have porno and drug pasts, including Parker Posey's slight variation of the annoying, unimaginative, and obvious characters she always plays in these films. Ha ha...), but several factors take this entry in the series higher than its predecessors. First, the Spinal Tap crew reunites as the Folksmen, and the fellows are just as funny as they ever were; they generate a chemistry that steals whole chunks of this film from any poor soul unfortunate to share the screen with them. The film shows much more actual sympathy towards its characters (especially Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara's duo, brought to impressive life by great acting) than Guffman or Show ever did, and Wind is definitely the better for it. Fred Willard is here, and he is funnier than he has been in ages (the Moby Dick scene is priceless). Almost all of the actors give stellar performances, which helps this film go over much, much smoother than it might have. Additionally, this time around, Guest is satirizing a subject truly worthy of a 90 minute film, the sanitized element of the sixties folk scene, and as far as the film works this area, it shines. The songs are especially tasty; they are precise parodies of the songs from these groups, but the writers have constructed them at least as well as their models crafted the originals. The album covers also nail their targets, and the concert that winds up the film is as fun as it ought to be. A Mighty Wind is far too inconsistent to be truly mighty, but it is easily the series' best in show. It often simply blows, but when it whips up a storm with some real electricity, few modern comedies can stand up to it.


Shalom, y'all!

L. Bangs

 

I loved it. I thought Eugene Levy was particularly strong, and Catherine O'Hara had her best role in many years. Just the sight of a bald headed Christopher Guest playing the banjo so earnestly was enough to start me laughing. He may well be the funniest man alive, IMHO.

Chris

 

We saw it about 2 weeks ago, and absolutely loved it. We're still quoting lines from it. I can't wait for the DVD. It's Eugene Levy's film, but everybody has their strong moments.

I was quite impressed to note that, whether or not they could when they started the project, everyone was definitely playing the right chords on their instruments throughout. Even if they were just pretending, someone coached the cast enough to make it look real.

Guest, Shearer ane McKean have been doing their "Folksmen" act on and off for a number of years. Kudos to them for realizing that there really wasn't a full 90 minutes of material based on that one concept, and for making it only a part of the story.

 

Loved it, go see it IMMEDIATELY. And, yes it did make me feel superior to its characters, and everyone else for that matter.

Jeff

 

Wow, what an interesting, insightful & humorous review. You do your namesake proud.

Jay N.

 

Don't hold back now, what do you really think?

I guess I must be one of those pretentious asses you were talking about, because I found both Guffman and Best In Show hilarious. Then again, I laughed at Danny Boy and Happy Gilmore too (and Caddyshack, and Animal House, and even The Disorderly Orderly), so maybe I just have a taste for broad, obvious comedy.

 

I agree with Lester on the Farley/Spade, same movie being made over and over again for the NPR set. However, like all Spade/Farley movies, I love the all of the Guest fare.

On a related note, if you haven't checked out the Spinal Tap special DVD, you're really missing out. The full length commentary track by Tap in character is possibly as funny as the first time I saw the movie.

 

I ain 't nowhere near my namesake, but I take a compliment where I can get one. Thanks!

Shalom, y'all!

L. Bangs

 

I don't know. I think most would say the person comparing A Mighty Wind to Black Sheep is the pretentious ass...

Really, though, doesn't everybody laugh at Animal House?

Shalom, y'all!

L. Bangs